It's official: the Cubs are done waiting on Jameson Taillon to figure it out. Chicago designated the veteran right-hander for assignment and turned to Triple-A Iowa for Andrew Wantz, a bullpen arm brought up to fill the roster spot. It's the kind of move that looks small on a transactions page but says a lot about where this rotation stands with the deadline bearing down.
Mark Feinsand broke the corresponding roster moves as they crossed the wire.
The Cubs have called up RHP Andrew Wantz from Triple-A Iowa and designated RHP Jameson Taillon for assignment.
Taillon signed a four-year, $68 million deal with the Cubs back in 2023, the kind of contract meant to anchor a rotation for the long haul. Instead, 2026 turned into a lost season: a 5.92 ERA, a National League-worst 25 home runs allowed, and 27 walks already matching his total from all of last year. He got roughed up for 7 runs in his last outing against the Pirates, and that appears to have been the final straw.
MLB Trade Rumors confirmed the DFA as the news spread.
A DFA isn't a release — the Cubs have a week to trade, waive, or outright Taillon, and at 34 with a contract in its last guaranteed year, there's a real chance nobody bites and he clears. Either way, it's an unceremonious way for a guy who's started well over 400 career games and pitched deep into October before to see his tenure on the North Side wind down.
The timing matters more than the name. Losing a rotation piece — even a struggling one — days before the trade deadline forces Chicago's front office to solve two problems at once: patch the staff internally and figure out whether they're buyers or sellers on starting pitching before the deadline hits. Wantz gives them bullpen length in the meantime, but this move is really about admitting the Taillon experiment didn't work and moving on before it costs them a playoff spot.